The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-05-13
JESS.
yH.RlpER HAcGARp.
EnN'T'l'Nas selensoHsA Mines StSEle

RyH.RlpER HAeeARp.
RuR'T'I'Qas selemo9snuees ShSEle.
"Thls Is all your fault, you drunken littl
blackguardw he said, turning savagely on tn
tottie, who, now that his excitement had LEI
him, was sniveling and driveling In an In
toxicated fashion, and calling him his pre-
server and his haas In maudlin accents.
"He hit me, baas; he hit me, and did ITO
take the forage. He Is bad man, Baa
Muller"
"Be of with you and get the horses in
spanned; you are half drunk" he growled
a conclusion. he went to the sitting room O
the hotel where Bessie was waiting In happ.
ignorance of the disturbance. 1t was not til
they were well ON their homeward way tina
he told her what had passed, whereat, remem
bering the scene she had herself gone through
with Frank Muller, and the threats that III
had then made use Of, she looked very grave
Her old uncle, too, was much put out wher
he heard the story on their arrival home tina,
evening.
"You have made an enemy, Capt. Mel,
he said, land bad one. Not but what you
were right to stand up for the Hottentot
would have done as much myself had been
there and ten years younger, but Frank Null
Ter is not the man to forget being put upon
his back before lot Of Kaffirs and white folk
too. Perhaps that Jantje Is sober by now
This conversation took place upon the follow
ing morning, as they sat upon the veranda
after breakfast n will 60 and call him, and
we will hear what this story is about his
father and his mother"
Presently he returned, followed by the rag
ged, dirty looking little Hottentot, who took
off his hat and squatted down on the drive,
looking very miserable and ashamed of him.
self, in the full glare of the African sun, to
the effects of which he appeared to be totally
impervious
snow, Jantje, listen to me-" said the old
man. yesterday you got drunk again
Well, I'm not going to talk about that now,
except to say that II I find or hear of your
being drunk once more-you leave this
place."
eyes, baas," said the Hottentot meekly. ~
was drunk, though not very; only had half
. bottle of Cape Smoke"
"By getting drunk you made quarrel with
Baas Muller, so that blows passed between
Baas Muller and the baas here on your &C.
count, which was more than you are worth.
Now when Baas Muller had struck you, you
said that he had shot your father and your
mother. Was that lie, or what did you
mean by saying It'll"
ut was no lie baas," said the Hottentot,
excitedly. II have said it once, and will
say it again. Listen, baas, and will tell you
the story. When was young, so highland
he held his hand high enough to indicate
tottie OF about IA years Of age-"we, that is,
my father, my mother, my uncle, a very old
man, older than the baas" pointing to Sias
Croft, "were bijwoners authorized squat
terS on place belonging to old Jacob Muller,
Baas Franks father, down in Lydenburg
yonder. It was bush veldt farm, and old
Jacob used to come down there with bis cattle
from the High veldt in the winter when there
was no grass in the High vel.lt, and with him
came the Englishwoman, bis wife, and the
young Baas Frank-the baas we sow yester.
day.
!, allow long ago was all thisg" asked Mr..
Croft.
Jantje counted on his fingers for some Sec
onds, and then. held up his hand and opened
it four times in succession. $780," he said,
"twenty years last winter. Baas Frank was
young then; he had only little down upon
his chin. One year, when ON Jacob went
away, after the first rains, he left six oxen
that were too poor (thin) to 60 with my faith.
er, and told him to look after them as though
they were his children. But the oxen were
bewitched Three of them took the lungsick
and died, lion got one, q snake killed one,
and one ate tulip and died too. So when
ON Jacob came back the next year all the
oxen were gone. He was very angry with
my father, and beat him with yoke strap
till he was all blood, and, though we showed
him the bones Of the oxen, he said that we
had stolen them and sold them.
"Now, ON Jacob had a beautiful span of
black oxen that he loved like children. Six
teen Of them were there, and they would
come up to the yoke when he called them and
put down their heads Of themselves. They
were tame as dogs. These oxen were thin
when they came down, but in two months
they got fat and began to want to trek about
as oxen do. At this time there was q Basutu,
one of Sequati's people, resting in our hut,
for he had hurt his foot with a thorn When
ON Jacob found that the Basutu was there
he was very angry, for he said that all Basu-
tus were thieves. 80 my father told the
Basutu that the baas said that he must 60
away, and he went that night. Next morn
ing the span of black oxen were gone too.
The kraal gate was down and they had gone.
We hunted all day, but we could not find
them. Then ON Jacob got mad with rage,
and the young Baas Frank told him that
one of the Kaffir boys had said to him that
he had heard my father sell them to the Ba-
sutu for sheep which he was to pay to us in
the summer. 1t was a lie, but Baas Frank
hated my father because of something about
a woman-a Zulu girl. Next morning, when
we were asleep. just at daybreak, ON Jacob
Muller and Baas Frank and two Kafirs
came into the hut and pulled us out, the old
man, my uncle, my father, my mother and
myself, and tied us up to four mimosa trees,
with buffalo reims. Then the Kaffirs went
away, and ON Jacob asked my father where
the cattle were, and my father told him that
he did not know. Then he took Off his hat
and said prayer to the Big Man in the sky,
and when he had done Baas Frank came up
with gun, and stood quite close and shot
my father dead, and he fell forward and
hung quite over the REIN, his head touching
his feet. Then he loaded the gun again and
shot the old man, my uncle, and he slipped
down dead, and his hands stuck up in the air
against the REIN. Next he shot my mother,
but the bullet did not kill her, and cut the
REIN, and she ran away, and he ran after
her and killed her. When that was done he
came back to shoot me; but I was young